Leading the agile organization

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Leading the Agile Organization

Organizational agility has been defined as the capability of a company to rapidly change or adapt in response to changes in the market so that it can thrive as an organization. In this session, we will focus on the role of the leader in shaping, promoting and sustaining an Agile organization. We will describe the Agile Mindset, discuss the key elements of an Agile Transformation and reveal the ideal characteristics of an Agile Leader. This interactive session will provide examples from successful Agile organizations and will reveal techniques that participants can use to effectively plan, scale and flow valuable work throughout their own organizations.


About Dimitri PonomareffDimitri Ponomareff (www.linkedin.com/in/dimka5) is a Coach. Whether it's a sports team, software products or entire organizations, Dimitri has that ability to relate and energize people. He is consistently recognized as a very passionate and successful change agent, with an overwhelming capacity to motivate and mobilize teams on their path to continuous improvements. He is a master facilitator, as well as a captivating speaker with consistent, positive feedback regarding his ability to engage an audience.

As a certified Coach, Project Manager and Facilitator of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", Dimitri brings a full spectrum of knowledge in his delivery of methodologies. Through teaching by example, he is able to build teams of people who understand where to focus their work to generate the most value.

He has coached and provided tailor-made services and training for a multitude of organizations. The short list includes, American Express, Charles Schwab, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Best Western International, Choice Hotels International, JDA Software, LifeLock, First Solar, Mayo Clinic and Phoenix Children's Hospital. Dimitri enjoys his work, and does everything to ensure he shares his knowledge with others who seek it.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/dimka5


The Agile Mindset

● The Agile Manifesto● The Paradigm Shift from Waterfall to Agile● The Third Wave of Agile


The Agile Manifesto - 4 Values

We are uncovering better ways of developing

software by doing it and helping others do it.

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Working software over comprehensive documentation

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on

the right, we value the items on the left more.

Source: www.agilemanifesto.org


The Agile Manifesto - 12 Principles

1. Satisfy the Customer

2. Welcome Change

3. Deliver Frequently

4. Work as a Team

5. Motivate People

6. Communicate Face-to-Face

Source: www.agilemanifesto.org

7. Measure Working Software

8. Keep a Sustainable Pace

9. Excel at Quality

10. Keep it Simple

11. Self-Organize

12. Reflect and Adjust Regularly


Organizational agility...

is the ability of an organization to effectively sense and adapt in complex, rapidly changing conditions so that it can thrive as an organization.


The Paradigm Shift from Waterfall to Agile

PlanDriven

ValueDriven

Constraints Scope (requirements) Cost Time

Estimates Cost Time Scope (features)

Waterfall Predictive Process

AgileAdaptive Process

The plan creates cost /schedule estimates

The vision creates feature estimates


The Third Wave of Agile

Source: http://www.solutionsiq.com/the-third-wave-of-agile/

http://www.solutionsiq.com/the-third-wave-of-agile/


Agile Leadership

● Delighting customers● The 3 Pillars of Empiricism● Team Development & Leadership Styles● The Cynefin Framework● The Agile Compass● True North


The Leader’s guide...

“The new goal for the organization must be to delight the customer.”- The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management: Re-inventing the Workplace for the 21st Century by Stephen Denning

Successful leaders use stories to get their ideas across and spark enduring enthusiasm for change.

- The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative by Stephen Denning


3 Pillars of Empiricism

Transparencybeing open and not hiding what is going on, being highly visible

Inspectionreflecting on what has happened

Adaptationmake adjustments to improve


“Doveryai, no proveryai”“Trust but verify”

“You always say that” Gorbachev noted laughingly at the White House arms treaty signing in 1987.

“I like the sound of it” Reagan replied.


Team Development & Leadership Styles

Tuckman's stages of group development


The Cynefin Framework

Leadership Across Contexts

● Simple Contexts○ The Domain of Best Practice○ Standard Operating Procedures○ Date provides answers

● Complicated Contexts○ The Domain of Experts○ Predictive planning ○ Data provides options

● Complex Contexts○ The Domain of Emergence○ Pattern management ○ Heuristic method by telling stories

● Chaotic Contexts○ The Domain of Rapid Response○ Crisis management○ Experience informs decisions

Source: A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making by David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone


The Agile Compass

Leaders must designs for the emergence of capability in these areas:

● Organizational Culture○ People's beliefs, attitudes and assumptions

● Organizational Structure○ Relationships, talent, risk, policies, rules and governance

● Leadership Styles○ Leading, inspiring, directing and motivating others


True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership

Personal Leadership Development Plan

1. Knowing your authentic self2. Defining your values and leadership principles3. Understanding your motivations4. Building your support team5. Staying grounded by integrating all aspects of your life

Source: True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership by Bill George

Agile leaders can adapt while keeping sight of their True North.


Organizational Agility

● Plan to achieve your goals● Scale to increase your productivity● Flow to gain the most efficiencies● Innovate from within● Continuously improve


It’s all about communication

People who want IT must communicate with people who can build IT.


Why, What & How

●WHY are we doing this?Voice of the stakeholder (Stakeholders)

●WHAT needs to be done?Voice of the user (Product Owner, Subject Matter Expert)

●HOW do we build it?Voice of the developer (Scrum Team)


The 5 levels of Planning in Agile


Agile Vision - The Elevator Pitch

FOR (target customer) WHO (statement of the need or opportunity) THE (product name) IS A (product category)THAT (key benefit, compelling reason to buy) UNLIKE (primary competitive alternative) OUR PRODUCT (statement of primary differentiation)Source: Geoffrey Moore’s template from Crossing the Chasm


Planning Traceability

Vision

Roadmap

R1 R2 R3 Rn

Release 1

SP1

Iteration 1

ST1 STnST3ST2

Iteration n

ST1 STnST3ST2

Story 1

T1 TnT3T2

Story n

T1 TnT3T2

SPnSP3SP2

Release n

SP1 SPnSP3SP2


Let’s play Plinko...


Scaling Scrum

“Scaling Scrum means getting rid of stuff because everything in Scrum is just in time, just enough,…and because any extra weight slows you down and increases cost. ” – Jeff Sutherland

Sutherland, Jeff. “Scaling Scrum – What People Are Not Talking About!”http://www.scruminc.com/scaling-Scrum-what-people-are-not/

http://www.scruminc.com/scaling-Scrum-what-people-are-not/

http://www.scruminc.com/scaling-Scrum-what-people-are-not/


Lean thinking

Coined by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones, it describes how to organize

human activities to deliver more benefits to society and value to individuals

while eliminating waste, by focusing on these concepts:

● Value

● Value streams

● Flow

● Pull

● Perfection


Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)

Source: http://scaledagileframework.com/

http://scaledagileframework.com/


Flow in psychology

Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.

being in the zone


Flow in the workplace

Flow has been used in the software world as being "wired in", “hack mode”, or simply “The Zone”.

The 3 conditions to achieve Flow by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s

1. Goals are clear 2. Feedback is immediate 3. A balance between opportunity and capacity

Group Flow or group cohesion can be achieved through● Creative spatial arrangements● Playground design● Parallel, organized working● Target group focus

● Advancement of existing one with prototyping● Increase in efficiency through visualization● Using differences among participants as an

opportunity, rather than an obstacle


Ship it like FedEx

24 hours to innovate...

1. Work on whatever you want2. Assemble your crew3. You've got 24 hours... go

This approach has been coined by Atlassian. It has now been renamed to ShipIt.

Source: www.atlassian.com/company/shipit

Other organizations conduct a Hackathon or a Hack Day to generate innovation.

http://www.atlassian.com/company/shipit


Adobe Kickbox - Personal Innovation Kit

What’s the story behind Kickbox?● Money - pre-paid credit card in the amount of US$1,000● Instructions - quick reference cards outlining the six levels in the red box● Innovation tools - scorecards, frameworks, exercises to develop ideas● Caffeine and sugar - Starbucks gift card and a candy bar

Source: https://kickbox.adobe.com/

https://kickbox.adobe.com/


PDCA - Plan, Do, Check, Act

ACT

PLAN DO

PDCACycle

CHECK

Continuous Improvements


Learn more at www.torak.com

Learn more at www.AgileTestingFramework.com

Any questions...

http://www.torak.com

http://www.agiletestingframework.com


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Leading the agile organization

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